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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30095259">Blocked and Broken</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IRegretNothingAndEverything/pseuds/IRegretNothingAndEverything'>IRegretNothingAndEverything</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Yamichi Madarame [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cuddling, Defense Mechanisms, Gen, Kinda, Major Character Injury, OCs change the game babie, Passing Out, Platonic Cuddling, Power Up, Recovery, Sharing warmth, Sickness, Sparring, Tags and Characters to be added, Training, Trans Female Character, getting sick, its important you know Yamichi is trans, like off screen, proper sparring now, random people in the town they're in, she gets a bow though so that's sick, she is just not having a good day, she's fine but she panics, sibling relationships, small chase scene, the dude does have intent to hurt her, the minor original character tag is just for like, they're siblings, yamichi gets a frighten</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:13:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,762</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30095259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IRegretNothingAndEverything/pseuds/IRegretNothingAndEverything</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamichi wakes up in someone's home, tired and in pain. From there, she grows, trying to unlock the life she lost, while also trying not to lose the one she's building now. An adopted brother, the Gotei 13, ryoka becoming heros, and captains deflecting from the Soul Society leaves her wondering how big this story actually is.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Madarame Ikkaku &amp; Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Yamichi Madarame [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hiiii, I am finally writing this!! Took awhile for me to like. Build up the courage to actually want to write out her entire story start to end, and find a title that wasn't a major spoiler. Either way, she is here now, and I am ready to go! </p><p>Be warned, this is a character I made when I was... eleven. She's been modified and slightly fixed now, to be better, but I'm sure some of that still peeks through. Hopefully, however, she's better than she was.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Her vision came back in a blur, unable to focus on any one thing, though she wasn’t sure if there was anything to focus on anyways. The room was near barren, just the cot she was laying on and the white walls around her. The left side of her face burned, though when she tried, she couldn’t lift her arm to find out why. Everything hurt, in a sort of achy way. Her stomach churned with each passing moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t know where she was, or what exactly was going on, but at the time it really didn’t matter. Her head hurt too much to keep her eye open--because now she was realizing that her other eye was covered, kept shut by bandages--so she didn’t try and fight it much longer, letting her eye close and darkness overtake her vision once more. She tried to stay awake, especially when she heard the door slide open, but her body felt so heavy, it felt like such a chore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It barely registered in her mind as someone sat down next to her cot, already slipping back off to sleep. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The next time she woke up was much more successful. She had rolled onto her back, or someone had done that for her, so all she saw was the roof. It wasn’t the cleanest place, she noted, but that didn’t really matter. She shifted, carefully rolling onto her side again, staring towards the door. It was half open, though she didn’t see anyone through it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pain had lessened by now, the burning around her eye still the most noticeable, but cooler, almost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked up, as the door opened again with a soft creak, and someone came in, a training sword slung over his shoulders. He looked towards her, and seemed almost shocked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Finally awake, eh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She went to reply, but her throat was dry, and all that came out was a coughing fit, causing her to curl tight around herself, and he sighed, walking over and setting the wooden sword down onto the floor besides her, slipping an arm under her shoulders to pull her up into sitting. A wave of vertigo crashed over her, and she clung to the stability that he provided, wheezing through her fit until it finally subsided, leaving her far more exhausted than she would have assumed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t miss a beat, turning and grabbing a water bottle from above her cot that she hadn’t been able to see, cracking it open and holding it up to her lips. “Don’t drink it all too fast.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was half tempted to snark at him--with him holding the bottle, it was nearly impossible to drink too fast unless he was trying to drown her with it--but the water was a distraction, not exactly cold, but still a balm against her dry throat. She whined when it was taken from her, glaring up at him with her one eye and all he did was laugh, setting it to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you can hold it yourself, you can drink as much as you want.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well that was a challenge if she had ever heard one. Not one she could currently accomplish, with her hands shaking just resting against her thighs, but still a challenge, and one she was going to take. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got a name?” She blinked at him, confused for a moment, before nodding slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yamichi.” It came out cracked, her voice shaking, and she wondered how long it had been since she had been awake to talk. There was no memory past her waking up, nothing before it, and nothing she could find. It was as if her memory had just. Stopped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That a first or last?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And here her brain just- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-for a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi looked up at him, hoping her confusion conveyed to him through just a look, and luckily enough it did, and he sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that’s an only name, huh.” She nodded, but found that to be a bad idea, grabbing onto his arm--which was still around her shoulders, half holding her up--to stop from falling even more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah not a good idea, huh?” He snarked, laying her back down carefully, and she huffed at him, glaring up at him, and only getting him grinning back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Name?” She croaked up at him, voice already sore as if she had been screaming this entire time, rather than barely saying two words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ikkaku Madarame.” He brushed her hair back away from her face. “You’ve been here for nearly a month, barely awake. Dunno what happened to you, just found you outside and dragged you in.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi frowned slightly, trying to think back to what had happened, what had led to her being bedridden in a stranger’s home for nearly a month, what led to her feeling like her entire body was lead, but nothing came up. Her mind was blank, a nothing before this, void of any memory of what had happened, who she was before this moment. It was a bit terrifying, to have lost an entire life, though she hoped it was in some way temporary, that she would remember again after being awake more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku had left, at some point, leaving her alone with her thoughts, though that didn’t last long, as sleep once again overtook her. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>She found that getting up to attempt walking was a chore, her body too heavy at the moment for her to even try it. So she tended to stay in the cot, sitting up propped against the wall, or laying and staring at the ceiling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Ikkaku came in next, she lifted a hand to her eye, the one still covered, and Ikkaku shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was almost a burn mark, really, but your eye was fine. Just the skin around it got fucked up. I dunno how badly it’s gonna scar, but there’s gonna be a difference. Dunno how your sight’s gonna be, but from my inexperienced opinion, it didn’t look like whatever got the rest of it got your eye.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi wasn’t entirely sure how that could have worked, how it could have happened. The skin had stopped burning at some point, but Ikkaku had yet to let her see the damage, taking care of the bandages himself, cleaning the skin underneath with careful precision. It was strange, really, someone being so caring to someone they hadn’t met before, and Ikkaku didn’t seem like he was going to explain anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was fine enough. She didn’t need an explanation. All that mattered was that she was getting better. Slowly but surely, it got easier to simply exist. She did spend most of those early weeks mainly sleeping, barely getting out of bed, eating whatever small soft thing Ikkaku could scrounge up for her, which wasn’t always the best. Rukongai, she learned, was not a kind place to those who could get hungry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku was there when she managed to get out of bed and walk across the room for the first time again. Her muscles weren’t the strongest, not after nearly a month of laying in bed, and her balance was off, thrown off by the bandages still wrapped tight around her left eye, leaving her depth perception off, nearly causing her to clip into the doorway, though Ikkaku was there, by her side to stop it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lucky enough, since the scar spanning across her shoulder blade and up and around her collar bone on that side had her wondering what had happened there. It twinged when she moved it a certain way, like the muscle that was supposed to be there and working just wasn’t, and her arm couldn’t move that way. Though, as she clearly watched it move exactly how it should, Yamichi wondered what exactly had happened to cause it. It was an older wound after all. Not one she got with the more recent injuries that Ikkaku had dragged her in for. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Six weeks of staying in that room, barely able to wander down the hall to the living room where Ikkaku and a few other Rukongai district natives would congregate, Ikkaku finally removed the bandages around her eye, letting her see the damage that had been done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had been right in saying that it seemed like the eye had been completely missed. Yamichi didn’t fully understand that, though she was beginning to become familiar with the feeling of confusion. The skin there looked new, lighter than the rest of her skin, though she was quite pale with how long she had spent inside this small house, the sun through the window barely enough to give her warmth. Here, however, it was nearly a pure shiny white, tender to the touch. Her vision was still off--six months of being basically blind in one eye doing her no favors--but that didn’t matter, as she continued to regain something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Power, perhaps. Ikkaku didn’t know what it was, just that they both had it, an abundance of it, burning within them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why we get hungry.” He explained, helping her wash the outrageous amount of hair that hung heavy on her back. She was laying back, head tilted into the bathtub, eyes closed as he worked through the strands of hair, an all day affair that had them both exhausted by the end. For now, however, they were only at the start, shampoo. Yamichi dreaded brushing the nest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we have more power, do we get hungrier?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku went quiet, in a way that Yamichi was learning meant he was pondering this, if it reflected on his own experiences in any way. “No…” He hummed after a moment. “No, I think that’s more reflected on how much you need to replenish? We all have a supply, and we get tired when we overdo it, and when that happens, we need to eat more, to replenish what was taken.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands dragged over her scalp, a careful drag of blunt nails through the rats nest her hair had become. He was probably going to braid it after, he had said, then see if they could put that whole braid up into something like a bun. It wasn’t perfect, and Yamichi had a feeling that it wasn’t exactly what she had before, but it would work for now, the purpose simply to keep it up and out of the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like me now?” She didn’t have any frame of reference to how hungry she was before this, before she had injured herself in some ambiguous way, but it could very well be that Yamichi was a lot hungrier than was normal for her. She had no clue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku dumped water over her head, blocking the flow from her eyes with a free hand. “I think so. It’s very likely that whatever happened to you hurt that power too, which is why you’re so weak. With nothing sustaining that, you can’t keep going, and for some of us, having so much is part of who we are.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi didn’t nod, in fear of getting the soapy water into her eyes, but she understood nonetheless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So the others, the ones you talk to a lot, they don’t have it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku’s hands paused in her hair, holding part of it up for a moment before letting it fall again, dumping more water over the mess. “I don’t think so. They don’t get hungry like us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Another reason we’re different.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been a small bonding point between the two of them while she healed, the ways that they were different from the general populace, and this was just another to add to the ever growing pile of reasons Yamichi believed that fate had brought them together like this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna run out of shampoo at this rate.” Ikkaku grumbled, and Yamichi laughed softly, peeking open one eye to look up at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have to do this all the time. If I keep it up in a braid or bun for longer periods of time, not really worry about it, then we don’t need to wash it as often.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why in the hell did you grow it out this long anyways?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been hard to tell the exact length when she had been laying down, but when she stood, hunched as she was, it dragged across the floor, just barely. Even now, it pooled on the bathtub’s floor, nearly covering the entire thing in purple. She didn’t have an answer for him, but something in her clenched in panic at the thought of cutting it short. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno. Must’ve been important.” It was the answer she gave whenever her memory failed her, but her emotions gave a story’s end with no beginning or middle. He understood well enough, just huffed and started on the conditioner, letting them lull into silence again, a comfortable one that Yamichi wasn’t sure she had ever had before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either way, it felt safe now, and that’s all that seemed to matter to her. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>By the time she was strong enough to go outside again, a full season must have passed, the air growing cold around them. There weren’t a lot of blankets in the home, but Yamichi refused to let Ikkaku go cold for some misplaced sense of chivalry. They shared a cot, all the blankets piled up together atop them, body heat from either of them radiating in the cocoon they built for them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was during the nights. During the days, however, she spent her time outside, sitting in the dirt that might have been a porch, leaning against the wall of the shack like home they had, feeling the power burning through the walls of the place. How long had Ikkaku spent here, imbuing the entire home with his warm burning power, like peppers and bonfires burning across her skin. The further away she got from the home, the weaker she got, though that could have been a combination of things. She liked to attribute it to the warmth of Ikkaku’s entire being shrouding the house in some sense of safety. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>During the day, the sun shone across the cold, not yet frozen landscape of late fall, keeping the chill away but only if she sat in the direct sun. As the sun moved, there were times her spot fell into shadow, and the cold would creep into her bones and chill her until Ikkaku wandered out and forced her back inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was terrified for her health, for good reason. Yamichi was still not quite normal, though what normal was was still a mystery to her. He was terrified that too long in the cold and she would get sick, and, in her weak state, pass before he could scrounge up the money--or the balls to steal--in order to pay for a treatment. She disagreed, but he still kept her inside as much as he could, taking an excuse to drag her back inside and warm her back up under blankets and cups of tea that he had brewed himself, even if it had gone cold with how long he had to wait for her spot to go into shadow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered why exactly he was being so kind. As she had learned, during the days she was confined to eavesdropping from her room, the other people in the district thought him a fool for it, thought that this kind deed would only come back to punish and hurt him. Yamichi had no plans of doing so, but with the fact that he needed more money to buy enough food to sustain him, and build her back up, it did seem like a lot. It would have been much easier, as many of the others that came by had said, to have simply left her alone in the middle of nowhere to fend for herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though, Yamichi had no doubts, if Ikkaku heard her thinking like this, he would do the exact same thing he had done to the people that used to come around the house, and she would end up healing from even more wounds. Affectionately, of course. Ikkaku’s affection was almost violent, though he did draw himself back a bit with her healing, she could tell, but how she could tell was a mystery still. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps it was another remnant of a past life, and she would eventually remember. It seemed like wishful thinking, and wishful thinking got you killed out here, as she had heard from many people in the time that she eavesdropped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were a lot of other things she heard, that Ikkaku was also very quick to shut down. It was strange, how kind he was. She got the feeling it was a rare commodity around these parts. She also got the feeling that if she said anything to him, he would deny it outright. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was fine. It didn’t need to be said for it to be the truth. Yamichi could see the care he held for her in each movement he made, could hear it in each word, even if he never said anything about it. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>As it got colder, her times outside got fewer, despite her wishes to simply sit outside and soak the sun in again. He worried too much, and eventually, even with the sun directly on her, it was too cold for Yamichi to sit outside without shivering, and they didn’t have enough warm clothing for Ikkaku to feel safe with it. Yamichi took to sitting near windows, which was just as chilly, but still safer in Ikkaku’s mind, letting her see the sun and the forest around them, while allowing for Ikkaku to cover her in as many blankets as he could possibly manage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t keep out the chill for long, and maybe it had to do more with Yamichi’s already failing health than the cold that whipped through the house, but flu took hold and held tight, wrapping around her chest tight and keeping her bedridden once more. Ikkaku seemed to be safe from it, for some reason or another, but Yamichi was not, curled up in the cot once more, shivering and feverish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lost track of time again. There were few memories she had here, ones she couldn’t fully dissect and understand, and others she held tight, knowing that Ikkaku was not the type to be affectionate, knowing that he would be unlikely to sing to her again if she weren’t dying as they both seemed to believe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a district doctor, who had come by, but Yamichi didn’t remember his visit, too lost in the throes of fever to remember what he looked like, or who he was. It wasn’t until after, when Ikkaku used stolen medicine to nurse her back to health once more, that he told her the doctor had diagnosed her with pneumonia, worse than the flu it had simply started as, and that he had told Ikkaku to give up, that Yamichi was a lost cause. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t give up on you during the month you were passed out on this cot, and I wasn’t going to give up on you now.” He muttered, gruff, exhaustion peeking through in his body language, and Yamichi dragged him close, hugged him tight in lieu of words, and held for a moment, and Ikkaku relaxed against her, eyes drifting closed, and the two of them curled back up on the cot, blankets dragged back over them and warmth shared between the two once more, something Ikkaku hadn’t done with Yamichi’s fever so high. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a comfort, on a deeper level than Yamichi could explain, than she thought Ikkaku felt, but comfort was comfort, and Yamichi clung to it at every chance she had, taking in Ikkaku’s warmth and safety more and more with each passing day, healing up again from her sickness slowly but surely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her days by the window had been cut short, but he kept the curtains open anyways, letting the winter sun shine into the dusty little house that they called home, so she could still feel it’s limited warmth, without getting sick again. Ikkaku worried, as he always did for her, that she wouldn’t get back up from it again if she got sick like that again. He stole medicine whenever possible, stockpiling it in the small bathroom, disappearing into the towns around their little forest to buy what he could afford and steal what he couldn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he started hunting game around their home is when she decided she was going to get stronger whether or not her health liked it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku was strong, though she wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to hold this much burden on his shoulders, and thus she made the decision, as he left the home again to disappear into the forest around them, covered in just barely enough clothing to hold a scrap of warmth, that she wouldn’t let herself be weak like this, not if she could do anything about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The issue was she wasn’t sure if she could change it or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>He practiced with the bokken often, though Yamichi couldn’t say it was every day. From inside the window, she would watch, each practiced move imprinting on her mind as she memorized the way he moved with it, the way the flour bag full of dirt that stood in for a dummy was felled again and again, though it wasn’t the best opponent, she was sure of that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As winter finally began to pass, and the world began to warm once more, she shuffled outside, as he disappeared into the forest once more, looking for the animals that were finally beginning to wake, something that would make for their dinner, and she picked up the bokken from where he had left it leaning against the house, taking the one real sword into the forest with him, and attempted to mimic the things she had seen him do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a lot harder than it looked, Yamichi realized, spitting dirt from her mouth as she sat up, bokken on the ground a few feet from her, the dirt filled flour bag taunting her across what they considered their front lawn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A challenge, then. That she could deal with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried to hide it from him, disappearing back into the house the moment she felt as if he was coming back, a tickling pressure along the back of her scalp, and going back to her chair near the oven that acted like a fireplace, so he wouldn’t worry, but Yamichi knew he was smart. Smarter than the people around town gave him credit for. He had to be, living out here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku managed to get the jump on her, just once, but that’s all it took really. She had been trying something he had done before, something she had watched him do, striking the flour bag with the bokken acting as a spear, a turn and toss that she knew she could get down if she kept at it, and she pushed just a little too far past the moment she felt that feeling along the back of her spine. Thought she could get just one more in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What in the world are you doing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi nearly fell, flipping around and holding out the bokken like a weapon, eyes wide before calming just as quickly when she saw it was simply Ikkaku, standing there--empty handed as she had expected, most animals too fast for him to catch, and him too heavy handed with his attacks--sword slung over his shoulders, staring at her incredulously. She was silent for a moment, searching for a hint of disappointment or anger, but all that was there was disbelief and confusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Practicing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku stared back at her, then sighed, dropping the sword against the wall, coming over to her carefully. “We’re gonna need another bokken, but for now, this will do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that, he set about correcting her attempts, teaching her the basics first, rather than the more elaborate things that he knew how to do, the things Yamichi had been secretly watching him do this entire time. Yamichi hadn’t considered that there were basics, hadn’t thought to even ask him, thinking his protective streak would run through even this, but now, he showed her the far easier things, basic stances and strikes that he critiqued and taught to the best of his ability, blunt as he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun was down by the time they stopped, darkness overtaking them, the only light coming from a lantern Ikkaku had gone inside to get and hung from the roof, and whatever fireflies that happened to float around them. Yamichi leaned heavy against the wall, head pounding and body aching, but feeling much more alive than she had for the past half a year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You learn quick.” He settled near her, holding out a water bottle that she gladly took, able to hold it up herself this time. “Keep up that pace, I find another bokken, and we can start sparring soon.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi’s eyes flicked towards him, body on fire with just the simple things he had taught her today, and grinned. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Tumblr is catboyangels! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and that you're gonna enjoy the rest of this, as it goes along! Thank you for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>and here we are, chapter two! Took me a bit, but I wanna make sure this is good, y'know? She's been a character for like seven or eight years, and I wanna do her justice!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The days continued to progress, Yamichi slowly learning more and more, getting stronger and stronger as she trained. They didn’t find another bokken for awhile, so Ikkaku turned to hand to hand combat while he searched for another. This was self defense focused, though Ikkaku understood wanting to fight just to fight. Yamichi never corrected him on who she wanted to protect. It didn’t matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Out here, no one’s gonna have a clean fight. Further up, in the higher districts, sure, probably, but down here? No one’s gonna have a clean fight. They’re desperate and they’re not gonna go for a clean fight when they can fight dirty and win faster.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi didn’t get it, not fully, but Ikkaku seemed to hate the idea of it, so she began to despise it as well, him still being one of the only interfaces she had with the rest of Rukongai. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t a choice she made consciously, of course, but no one came up to their little home in the woods anymore, not since Ikkaku had chased out nearly everyone else for trying to convince him to give up. Ikkaku was not someone who gave up, and he wasn’t about to start now. Even if it meant chasing anyone he might have once considered a friend before. Yamichi couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about it, her appearance causing a lot of issues for the other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He told her, many times, that he didn’t care. Yamichi still had a hard time believing that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite his distaste for fighting dirty, Ikkaku still taught her, the more clean shots first off, and then the more dirty ones. They were a similar enough height that any height advantage either of them would have had been taller or shorter was taken off, or at the very least minimized. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was after one of these sparring sessions, Yamichi having been thoroughly beaten by the healthier and more experienced Ikkaku, leaving her laying in the grass in front of the cabin, that he settled next to her, dropping a canteen next to her. She nearly chugged the entire thing, but having already made that mistake--and thus having Ikkaku worried about her for the rest of the day after she was sick--she sat up carefully instead, uncapping it and taking careful sips, leaning slightly to the side against Ikkaku’s side. He didn’t move, wrapping an arm around her to hold her up as he had always done before, rubbing her arm carefully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re improving.” He started out, careful and casual, and Yamichi laughed softly, shaking her head, braid thumping heavy against her back as she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have barely changed-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t argue with me, I’m right and you know it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi sighed, but obligingly went silent, looking towards Ikkaku wondering where exactly this was going to go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stayed silent for a bit longer, leaning back against the wall with her held against his chest in near silence, only the evening sounds of the woods and their heavy breathing accompanying the two of their thoughts, while Yamichi sipped at the canteen, passing it back to Ikkaku on occasion so he could too sip at it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a comfortable silence, but Yamichi couldn’t help but feel off about it. There was something here, something he wanted to say, but Yamichi couldn’t decode what it was, couldn’t figure out what it was that was causing him to stay silent about it. Ikkaku was normally so brash and abrupt, that it was strange for him to-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Think you should have my last name. You don’t have one, and it would make sense. People would stop asking questions if we introduced you as my sister.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nevermind then. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi stayed silent, staring down at the canteen in her hands, not exactly frowning, but almost. It wasn’t a bad idea, but it would imply a closeness that Yamichi wasn’t sure Ikkaku was going to be okay with. He was the one who offered, of course, but there was an implication there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku wasn’t one who often talked about feelings. Yamichi had gotten the feeling he didn’t see a need, or at the very least that his feelings should be able to be seen as obvious to other people, that these things didn’t need to be said. Yamichi was the opposite. It was worrisome, in some way, that someone could misinterpret what it was she was feeling, that they would put thoughts into her mind that weren’t hers. Perhaps Ikkaku didn’t worry about that as much as she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t want that-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shush. Let me think.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku huffed, but went silent. Let her sort out all the thoughts that brought itself together in her mind in a jumbled mess of everything and nothing at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had offered, explicitly to call her his sister. Which wasn't a bad thing, of course not. Yamichi had no one else, and she was close with him, connected the way he took a mentoring role in this, helping her learn not only to protect herself, but other, smaller things. Setting traps for rabbits so they could have food, which berries were okay to pick and which weren’t. The small things that would keep her alive when he couldn’t be there to protect her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Much like an older brother would do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Actually she wasn’t sure if he was older. That was a mystery in and of itself, but one for another time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But perhaps she was reading too much into it. Ikkaku sat there in silence next to her, picking at the canteen’s strap in almost silence, and Yamichi knew he was patient with her in these moments, but it could only last so long, couldn’t it? She hummed, then shifted, leaning her head onto Ikkaku’s shoulder properly shifting an arm back to toss her braid over his other shoulder, letting it thump against his chest and settle there, more out of the dirt than before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yamichi Madarame.” She murmured, then nodded slightly, like saying it aloud just made it real. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku grinned, arm around her shoulders squeezing a bit more, tight and warm like his hugs always were. “Good. Now I’ve got a sister, and they can’t say shit about it.” </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Of course, everyone knew that they weren’t blood related, but out here in rukongai, that didn’t seem to matter. If you said that the person next to you was your brother, even if the two of you hadn’t met until that day, everyone would take it at face value. It was more a sign of connection, that you two were of the same group, or making your own in the Madarames’ case, than any blood connection. This wasn’t a new concept in the depths of Rukongai. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps that’s why Ikkaku had recommended it, but Yamichi didn’t care either way. It still signaled a closeness, and Yamichi was glad for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took him a while to find another bokken. Nearly three months after he had promised to her that they would spar upon teaching her, he had finally found another, worn and beat up just like his own, but another nonetheless, another teaching tool, something Yamichi could use again. She lit up upon seeing him wandering home, with two slung over his shoulders. She had run from the house, taking it from his back without a thought and-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In moments, he had his own off his back and had knocked her to the ground, holding hers above her head, grinning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got a lot to learn.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi glared at him, and took the challenge for what it was. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>It came as no surprise that she wouldn’t be able to beat him the first time, or even the first fifty, seeing as he was both more experienced than her, and the one teaching her in the first place, but it still stung time and time again as Ikkaku gave her no mercy, knocking her to the dirt over and over again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had told her, taking care of the small bruises along her arms and back, that it was because no one else would show her any mercy, and by giving her that small bit, it was likely to cripple her rather than help. Yamichi understood it well enough, but still, as she failed to get him down once for weeks afterwards, she wondered if it would be better for her confidence in herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Ikkaku seemed proud of her, and that was enough. Beating him in a spar could be a dream, a star that she reached out for, before she eventually closed her hand around this burning bright idea, and finally won. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That would be awhile, though. She knew that well enough. He was better than her, in all ways that currently mattered, and all she could do was train with him while he was there, and with the sandbags when he wasn’t. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>For the first time, Yamichi traveled into the town that was near their home. It was small, but busy, almost cutthroat in the way the traders and barters dealt with everything. It was loud, too loud for her almost, but Ikkaku was out, and she needed to get this down before he returned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt off with a sword. As always, it was all they had, and perhaps it would get better when she had the real metal in her hands, could hear it whistle as it sliced through the air, but for now, it was off. Too front heavy, too close to the battle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi would still win a fight with Ikkaku with swords alone, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t like a back up plan. Especially with Ikkaku’s eyes trailing off to the middle distance sometimes, staring out into nothing as if he longed to leave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a hope that he would stay long enough for her to win, but as those moments got more frequent, it felt as if he wouldn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt weak wandering through town, away from the house, heavy feet dragging through the dirt leaving little divots in the makeshift road until another person shuffled along, ruining her tracks. Yamichi tried to take in everything around her, everything that she could see from this little town, take in all the information and see what it was like here, but she could only take in so much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps she could find another moment to sneak up here and see it again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was nothing for her so far, but everyone around had some sort of weapon, slung over their backs or on their waists. So many were swords, however. She did see a few scythes around, but figured those were for the people who could manage to keep a farm around here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One person had something different. A piece of wood slung over their back, bent in a gentle curve, a string holding the two ends together. She stared at it quietly, trying to puzzle together what it was, when the man with it turned and caught her staring. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes narrowed, and all at once, she felt fear, deeper than she did when sparring with Ikkaku, where all that would meet her would be the hard dirt, and then his hand coming to help her up. Now? Now she was in danger, real danger, and the man with the bow was advancing on her. Yamichi felt the terror flick through her chest, before she turned and booked it down the road, ducking and weaving her way through the small crowd of people, hoping to lose him on the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” He chased after her, feet thudding against the dirt, and Yamichi knew that if he kept chase, there was no way she would get through. She was still weak out here, away from the home that felt infused with Ikkaku’s care and energy, and thus probably far slower than him. She had a head start for now, but when they got to the dirt roads in the middle of nowhere leading back to the house? There she would be caught, there the man would get her, and no one would be around to care. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s not like they cared now, she noted rather bitterly, as she ducked through the crowd, only getting people complaining when her quick movements around them shoved them out of the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get back here!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Never. She would never do that, could never, not with the panic coursing through her veins, the fear running through her heart, with how angry the man sounded when chasing her down. Yamichi broke through the crowd at the edge of town, racing up the dirt road, with only the occasional stall set up, no real buildings. She could get back home, she could, she could if she just tried, pushing herself further and faster despite the pounding in her head and the burning in her chest and legs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A hand caught around the edge of her long braid and yanked, pulling her back with a sharp stabbing pain through her scalp, sending her tumbling to the dirt, rolling to a stop at the man’s feet, where he stared down at her in barely disguised anger and disgust. She held back a shudder from where she was on the floor, braid still held in his hand, but long enough that it didn’t hurt at the moment, just felt uncomfortable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now then.” He crouched down over her, a glint in his eyes that Yamichi didn’t recognize, but still hated, still feared. “No need to run from me. I just wanted to talk.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi had the feeling that his idea of talking involved the bow strung over his back, and that was something Yamichi wanted no part in. He grinned at her, a sickly thing that Yamichi hated, and with that, she closed her eyes tight, terrified of what was to come. What it was going to be, she didn’t know, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it didn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man had gone to say something, she heard the intake of breath, but at the same time Yamichi heard it cut off all at once, like he was choking, and she felt like she was on fire. Burning, bright and loud, and so much, and her braid thunked down against her chest again all at once, the man having dropped it, and then dropped to the side himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She opened her eyes, everything seeming bright and clear and so… slow. Not quite slow, if she really thought about it, but there was no other word for it, other than the world was slow, and she was so fast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man was on his side next to her, twitching, and Yamichi tilted her head to the side, confused as to what was going on. She reached for him, but as her hand got closer, so did the pain he was in rise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was the cause. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It made sense. She felt so different, it was the only thing that had changed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi stared for a moment, eyes darting around the collected people, out of the range of… this, whatever it was, but staring all the same, almost scared of her. That…. Wasn’t what she wanted from this, but if it was what she got, then fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stood, feeling… powerful. More so than she had before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a moment of spite, she took the bow, and the quiver of arrows that he had on his hip, from the man, slinging it over her shoulder in a similar fashion, hooking the arrows to her hip as well. He barely moved, and, without another glance back, she turned, going back up the road towards her home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi saw the dirty front door before she collapsed into the dirt, the power she had felt draining from her in a moment. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ikkaku found her when he returned that night, laying in the dirt, arrows scattered from the quiver that had fallen empty when she collapsed, the bow caught underneath her, like she had fallen on it as if to protect it. There was exhaustion peeking along her face, even as she lay there, in essence asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know what had happened, but he could wager a guess, seeing as he knew whose bow that was, and he would have never given up his weapon without a fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well. Finders keepers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gathered the arrows into the quiver once again, unhooking it from Yamichi’s hip, slinging it onto his back instead, then crouched down to roll her onto her back and lift her up from the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was still so light after so long. It was almost sad, knowing that she couldn’t get healthier like this, in this little hut. It also seemed as if she couldn’t leave it for long without something or other happening to her. This wasn’t the first time she had left, but considering that had ended with him also carrying her back home in his arms as she shivered and cowered under his spiritual energy, nothing had really changed from then. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps he had hoped, however distantly he allowed himself hope, that she had gotten better in those months between these two incidents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi was lowered into the blanket pile that served as their bed, and Ikkaku held her up just long enough to remove the bow as well, before letting her fall completely into it, curling into a ball as she sunk into the comfort of the pile. He tossed a separate blanket over her as well carefully, making sure she was covered completely, just in case the night was chilly as it had been, though with spring right around the corner, he hoped it would warm up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It would do her good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned the bow against the wall across from the bed, setting the arrows carefully there as well. Ikakku took a moment to look back at her, wondering if he should go out to town to see the damage, if he could leave her here alone, but already, inside the house, in the little nest they had made, as she liked to call it, Yamichi looked better, like her exhaustion had been sapped out of her in the time it took to take her into the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that, he sighed, shutting the door behind him and venturing back out into town, just to figure out what had happened. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>When she woke, Yamichi saw the bow. It was leaning against the wall in her eye line, and she relaxed. It was still here, still hers now, and that was enough. It didn’t matter to her that she didn’t know how to use it, or if Ikkaku could even teach her. All that mattered was that she had it, it was hers, and no one in that little town could do anything about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, they could probably storm the house, but still. That wasn’t the point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi sat up, her head pounding as she did. She still felt weak, strangely so, a weakness she hadn’t felt since she first woke up, those months ago. This time, however, she still had memory, hazy as it was, so she took it as a marked improvement from last time, and pushed herself up to her feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then almost immediately collapsed back onto the pile. Well that wasn’t going to work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi settled back into the next of blankets, wrapping one tight around her, and stared towards the door. If he was here, Ikkaku would have heard her fall and would come running in any second. If not, he had gone back out. Either way, she sat in wait for him to return. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waited a bit longer than she had thought she was going to have to, meaning Ikkaku hadn’t been home. If he had been home, he would have appeared in the room seconds after hearing her fall and fussed over her all while scolding her for trying to get up. Yamichi smiled fondly at the thought of it, the way he was so so worried about her, but didn’t show it like one normally might. It was funny, in a way, that he still held that up when no one but the two of them were around, like someone might burst in and catch him in the act of having feelings past ‘bloodlust’ </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How scandalous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, however, Ikkaku came back in, seeing her curled up in the blankets, tracing shapes with no meaning on the blanket under her, her other hand curled around the hollow mask pendant she had on her necklace. He raised an eyebrow at her, and Yamichi just grinned back at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tried to get up. Failed. Decided to wait for you to show up again. Where did you go?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Town. Trying to figure out why I found you passed out in the front yard.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi shrugged a shoulder, keeping a tight hand around her pendant as she shifted to sit up, Ikkaku coming up on her side, sitting next to her and letting her lean up against him. “What do you know?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That Kaito is terrified of you now, that you can keep the bow, and what happened on the path. Kinda. The reasoning for it happening doesn’t make sense.” Ikkaku shifted, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, holding her close, carefully. “Said you seemed scared and then all of the sudden he couldn’t move.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno either.” She admitted softly, almost scared of admitting it. “It’s like… That felt right, in a way, but it also felt like too much all at once, like I shouldn’t have been able to handle it, to even move without falling into pieces with the sheer… force of it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku hummed softly, thinking about this quietly for a moment, his thumb rubbing a small circle into her shoulder as he did, and Yamichi copied the movement onto her pendant, which warmed under the movement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re stronger than we first thought. Whatever happened to you fucked you up, bad, and now… well you’re cut down so far that it’s like your completely powerless.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I’m not. I’m still strong, I still have it, I know I do, you can feel it.” To prove her point, she reached inside herself, feeling the power cowering there like a scolded dog, and dragged it forwards with some effort, flaring it against Ikkaku’s, and Ikkaku huffed, knocking his own back against it, giving her all the comfort he could through it. There, no one could catch him, and Yamichi reveled in it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know how strong you were before. Maybe that was your normal, and now, whatever happened just cut it down. That might be why you still feel so weak when so much has come back to you. What you’ve got is barely a fraction of what you had.” Ikkaku’s own energy wraps around her like another blanket, warm and comfortable, and she knows that his currently dwarfs her own. The thought that hers could give him the same feeling one day is a strange one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.” She settles with saying instead of any of the other thoughts bubbling up inside her, and turns her face into his shoulder. “Either way… I’m tired. Like it wasn’t supposed to happen.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Defense mechanism, probably. He scared ya.” Ikkaku shifted slightly to lay her down, but she caught his arm and lay her head on it, forcing him to stay and lay with her, tugging a blanket over himself. “Panicked, thought you were gonna get hurt, and it responded with all it knew how to do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Think that’s gonna go away? When I get better?” Yamichi mumbled, already half asleep again. That show of power before had exhausted her horribly, and Ikkaku shrugged a shoulder, not the one Yamichi was laying on, in an effort not to wake her up more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, maybe not. Could be a thing for now cause you can’t defend yourself well. Might always be a thing. Never know.” Ikkaku yawned softly, and Yamichi smiled secretly into his shoulder, knowing her brother well enough by now to know that he had been tired. Ikkaku half-heartedly smacked her shoulder, and Yamichi just laughed and settled more into their little nest. “You’re an ass.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You love me.” She muttered, slipping her hand back up to her pendant to grasp onto like a security blanket, missing the narrowed eyes Ikkaku sent the pendant as she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… Yeah I guess I do.” Ikkaku huffed, and settled into the pile himself, keeping an arm tight around her, protecting her even as they slipped off to sleep. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tumblr is catboyangels! Hope you enjoyed! I have no promises on when chapter three will come out, since I don't plan things, I just write them and then post them the day after I finish (to give two of my friends early access technically sdfwnwrfu) so! Might take another week or two. I don't have a lot of time to write after work.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fuck it. Yeet. </p><p>A shorter chapter, but gets some important things out of the way! Hopefully I can move the plot to more places where I want to write it, rather than spots that I Have To Write to make things understandable.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She started putting her hair into a bun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a struggle to learn the first time, taking the mass and managing to get it into something bun shaped, but it was safer than the braid now that Yamichi had felt first hand what having a brain while running away from someone could be like. She had been lucky then. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku had taught her to never lay your trust on luck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bow was difficult to learn as well. It took more strength than she had thought, and a bit more than she might have had at first, to pull the string back at all. That wasn’t going to stop her, and her using a bow also wasn’t going to stop the other lessons Ikkaku had for her, so nothing really changed. There was just less of her time spent sitting in the pile and staring at the wall. Which, honestly, was better. There was nothing to do in this little house, and they had already learned that when she left, bad things tended to happen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi still wanted to try again. Ikkaku wasn’t one to hold her back, but still seemed… wary. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Both times you left the house, you ended up passed out in the dirt and having to recover again, unable to do much besides sleep and lay here.” Ikkaku sent a look, almost a glare but too tinged with worry to be a true glare, back towards here, where she was scraping her plate clean of the last tinges of breakfast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But this time, you’ll be with me.” Yamichi smiled at him, and Ikkaku stared at her a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is that going to make a difference?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinked, confused for a moment. Couldn’t he feel it? “The... The house, it’s… infused with you. Your energy, your power, it’s all here in the walls. That’s why I’m getting better here. Out there, there’s nothing, a void of energy.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That first time, I was with you, and you still collapsed.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah, that time I was still weak. It was barely a few months after I showed up. Now?” She grinned at him, wiping her cheek of the remnants of breakfast, clicking the broken fork against the chipped plate. “I’m a lot better. Still not… perfect. But better. I think I can make it back before collapsing in exhaustion this time, and when I’m here, it’s like all that melts away!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t get what you mean by my energy is in the walls.” Ikkaku stared at her a moment, and Yamichi hummed softly, before pressing her reiatsu against his, warmth and comfort sent both ways, and Yamichi couldn’t help but smile that he returned that soft warmth without a second thought, barely even stuttering in his movements as he cleaned up the kitchen area. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That. We do that on purpose sometimes, y’know, but when I’m here, it’s like. Always there. Not as obvious as that, but the feeling right as we’re drawing away again, that-barely-there-but-still-enough-to-matter feeling?” She waits for Ikkaku’s nod. “It’s that. All the time while I’m here, as if you’re always there. I think it’s the amount of time you’ve spent here, burning your presence into the walls, and I can just… feel it. It’s safe.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku was silent for a moment, and Yamichi stood from her spot, nudging him to the side with her elbow so she could rinse off her plate in the little sink, letting him think about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like… That one blanket of yours?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He called it hers, though they technically shared everything here, even the blankets. The blanket in question wasn’t the biggest or the softest, but it was still Yamichi’s favorite, a lavender purple a good few shades lighter than her hair. Yamichi hadn’t noticed anything different about it, but perhaps that’s why he couldn’t tell the house was brimming with his presence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so.” Yamichi turned, putting her dishes away carefully, then turned to look back at Ikkaku, who was leaning back against the counter, watching her. “I can’t tell anything’s different about that blanket, but that would explain why you can’t tell anything’s different with the house. You can’t sense yourself.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku nodded a bit. “So. You’re certain this’ll help?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grinned at him, pushing away from the counter and bopping him on the nose before turning back towards the bedroom. “You worry too much.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Considering all the shit you’ve been through, I think I worry about the exact right amount!” He called after her, but didn’t follow. Yamichi just laughed. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Ikkaku caved to her pretty easily. It wasn’t like he was holding out, or trying not to. He trusted her to know herself, but it was still a moment of worry for him. He cared so much about her, and Yamichi understood. She cared just as much for him as he did for her. Still, he caved, even if neither of them really considered it caving, and thus, with the bow slung over her back and the quiver full at her hip, they headed into one of the towns close to them, different from where Kaito was so that Yamichi didn’t have to worry about trigger the fight or flight thing again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay quiet, alright? You don’t know the whole bartering thing and I don’t want you being taken advantage of.” Yamichi nodded, resolving to watch and learn as Ikkaku went through his day with the small amount of money he had, prepared to have to stretch it out as far as he could, and then steal when he couldn’t get. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi had no doubts he hadn’t stolen the small amount of money that they already had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They wandered through town, heading first to food. They never had a lot, and Ikkaku was still trying to hunt, so Yamichi figured he always went to food first. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much Kan do we have?” Yamichi popped up at his shoulder, and Ikkaku glanced down at his bag, peeking into it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At a glance? Around two thousand.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi nodded slightly, and Ikkaku headed towards a stand with… relatively fresh produce, and Yamichi followed behind him quietly, already feeling weak and tired from being away from the house for so long. Being close to Ikkaku helped, so she stuck as close as she could without hindering him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kept a close watch on what he grabbed-a few fruits, a head or two of lettuce, various other random things-as he grabbed it, setting up near the stand owner with his haul, and sent a hard look towards the owner, who didn’t even flinch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What followed was a conversation Yamichi could barely follow. The owner named a price that, despite Yamichi knowing very little about money, even instinctually, felt like far too much-near three thousand kan-and Ikkaku countered with what felt like another very outrageous price, but in the opposite direction-around five hundred kan-and the two of them began to argue, getting closer and closer in price as they did. Her eyes darted between the two of them as they argued, neither of them blinking, or even flinching. This was something Ikkaku had done a lot, and something the stand’s owner dealt with often. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi glanced around, and began to realize a lot of the noise that was going on was this arguing, this bartering, each stand owner and customer talking back and forth as they settled closer and closer to a good price. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She focused back into Ikkaku and the produce stand owner as they settled on a price-985 kan-and Ikkaku began to count out the money from the bag, and Yamichi began to set the produce into the basket she slung over her back once full. They paid, then wandered away, Ikkau’s eyes darting around the food stands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can hunt for meat, we’re good there.” Yamichi nodded slightly. Ikkaku had gotten better at the stealth part, and finally figured out traps, meaning they usually got a few rabbits a week. Ikkaku scoured around for a moment more, before walking off away from Yamichi, leaving her to scramble after him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They continued bouncing around stalls, their kan decreasing far faster than either of them would have liked, before Ikkaku sighed softly, looking into their little pouch and finding nothing more, at least nothing that they could pay for something with. Yamichi, at this point, had a full pack on her back, various foods covering the entire thing, as well as another hand made blanket that Ikkaku had noted Yamichi looking at while he was bartering for soap. They barely had enough for it, but Ikkaku refused to let her say anything about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now… you hold this-” Ikakku’s own pack, not nearly as full as Yamichi’s, but still heavy, was handed over, and she balanced it, while Ikkaku glanced around, eyes narrowed as he tried to find something. “I’m gonna steal some shit. Create some sort of distraction for me, alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi nodded, looking down at the pack Ikkaku had handed her. She didn’t want to do anything with her pack, since it was full of the food, but his was various soaps, small random things that they needed, and she figured it would be good enough for this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t have to feign struggling with the weight of the packs, and had gotten enough attention from various people. Ikkaku was hidden in the alleys behind the various stalls, making motions towards the stall he was going for, and Yamichi wasn’t surprised that he was heading towards one filled with herbs and medicines. She half rolled her eyes, then very purposefully stumbled in front of it, tripping over her own feet and spilling the contents of Ikkaku’s pack across the dirt. She scrambled to start picking things up, apologizing to the people around her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, now, it’s alright.” She turned slightly, towards the stall owner, a kind old man who smiled at her, kneeling down to help her gather the things that had fallen and rolled away from her. “Do you need help?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, I’m alright. My brother is around here somewhere, he’ll help me back home. He just wandered off, I don’t know where.” She smiled, purposefully ignoring the way Ikkaku slid into the stall to pick things up, dropping the last few kan they had onto the man’s stall-barely a few hundred kan, not nearly enough to pay for everything that Ikkaku took, but all that they could do-as the man helped her clean up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time the two of them were standing again, Ikkaku had disappeared back into the alley behind the stall, and looped around, herbs hidden in his shirt, barely noticeable, even if you were looking for it, running up. “Yamichi!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you are!” She smiled, and the man helped her lift the pack back onto Ikkaku’s shoulders. “Got everything?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” He settled the pack properly, then dropped into a slight bow towards the man, straightening back up rather quickly. “Thank you for taking care of her for me-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now now, it’s alright. Take care of her, I can see the exhaustion on her face.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi blinked. She really didn’t feel tired, and Ikkaku glanced over towards her, then nodded slightly like he saw it too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, she’s always been a bit sick. Hopefully what we’ve got at home’ll perk her back up.” Ikkaku wrapped an arm around Yamichi’s shoulder, then turned to guide her back up the walkway. The stall disappeared behind them, neither noticing the man smile, scooping up the kan they had left for him, without bothering to find what had been missing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you tell me you were already getting tired?” He muttered at her, not angry, but angry-worried, and Yamichi blinked at him, still confused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cause I’m not? I really don’t feel all that bad.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ikkaku looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and Yamichi just smiled at him, shrugging a shoulder. “Maybe I’m just like this. I dunno how that works. I’ve been sick and weak for so long that maybe I just… look exhausted this entire time cause my body is, but I’m not.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stayed silent for a moment, before sighing, nodding and taking that answer. Yamichi glances around, as Ikkaku leads her out of the town and towards home once again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were alone on the path, just the two of them heading home, mostly in silence as Yamichi began to realize how heavy her body actually felt, when a loud roaring came from the forest around them. Ikkaku tensed, hand dropping from Yamichi’s shoulders down to the katana at his waist, eyes darting around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yamichi followed his eye line, tense, her heart pounding. The roar came again, and the two of them whipped around, as a large beast came from the forest behind them, one of it’s over sized hands crushing a tree as it settled its weight onto the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The beast was large, a white bone mask covering its face, bipedal, but down on all fours, reddish green body disappearing into the foliage like an attempt at camouflage, as it focuses it’s yellow-black eyes on the two of them, Ikkaku pointing his katana towards the thing. Yamichi stared at its face, unmoving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Run!” Ikkaku called to her, but she didn’t, staring towards it with wide eyes. Something. There was something here, something that she knew, something tickling the back of her mind as she stared into the yellow-black eyes of the monster, as it stared down Ikkaku. For a moment, she didn’t understand why he wanted her to run. It was here, already, and she was so so slow. It wasn’t like she could get away from it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he was going to distract it. She realized this a bit too late, as Ikkaku charged at the beast, and Yamichi lunged after him as the beast lunged back. “NO!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It went silent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t feel pain, even when she should have. Yamichi knew she had forced herself between this beast, and Ikkaku’s sword, she should be hurt, but nothing. Slowly, Yamichi opened her eyes again, and found herself staring into the yellow-black once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now, instead of it being rage, burning blood lust shining in that color, it was fear. She stared towards the beast, then took a step forwards, as it took a step back, stumbling into the forest, before turning tail and running, disappearing into the brush. She stared after it, before turning slowly to look at Ikkaku. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was staring at her, eyes wide, no hint of fear, just confusion, worry. Yamichi stared at him for a moment, before pitching forwards, the world going black as he called her name, sword dropping from his hands to catch her. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed! my tumblr is catboyangels!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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